1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to: a document creation system in which an image processing apparatus and a document creation apparatus are connected to each other via a network; a document creation method for the document creation system; an image processing apparatus preferably employed in the document creation system; and a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following description sets forth the inventor's knowledge of related art and problems therein and should not be construed as an admission of knowledge in the prior art.
Generally, a base document is prepared on a personal computer, image data is read out from another document by a scanner of an image processing apparatus such as the one described above, and the image data is incorporated to the base document to make it into a target document.
On the other hand, having being widely used for recent years is a technology to create a document with use of a document creation application running on a Web server (as known as cloud computing), which does not limit the user to use a certain terminal neither limit data to be physically stored on personal computers which are supposed to be exposed to a substantial risk of data leakage.
Generally, in a document creation procedure using a personal computer: a base document is constructed; necessary images are obtained as electronic data by a scanner or the like then laid out on the base document to make it into a target document; and the target document is outputted, for example it is printed or transmitted via facsimile. To insert the necessary images at certain positions of the base document, the links to the URLs (Uniform Resource Locators), i.e. Web addresses from which the necessary images (the locations where the necessary images are physically stored) can be obtained, are required.
However, in this case where a document is created with use of a document creation application running on a Web server, it is obvious that no URLs are known yet before reading out the necessary images from the base document. More specifically, it is necessary to incorporate image data existing on the Web to the base document because a document creation application running on a Web server works on the basis of HTTP; however no image data is physically stored at any URLs before obtaining it from the base document.
To prevent such inconvenience: the user moves to the side of an image processing apparatus leaving his/her personal computer; operates the image processing apparatus to have a document read by the scanner; uploads image data obtained from the document so as to keep it temporarily on a public space on the Web; returns to the side of his/her personal computer; and operates the personal computer to specify the URL of the public space where the image data having just been uploaded with use of the document creation application. After that, a target document is finally obtained.
Meanwhile, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP 2000-137705, there disclosed an image data processing apparatus facilitating document creation by putting image data read out from a document by a scanner on a Web page and transmitting a notice of the URL of the Web page.
Furthermore, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP 2005-094523, there disclosed a network facsimile system being configured to register an HTML link to an image on a server and transmit it to a target address so as to allow accessing the image in a simple manner.
Furthermore, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP 2005-333477, there disclosed a data processing apparatus being configured to: receive document data with a user's created link information via a network; picks the link information from the document data; read out image data from a document by a scanner; and put the image data onto the document data which is obtained from to the link information.
However, what is found with these cited prior arts is the same problem of less operational efficiency because the user is still required to go back and forth to operate his/her personal computer and the image processing apparatus in the method previously mentioned where the user moves to the side of an image processing apparatus leaving his/her personal computer; operates the image processing apparatus to have a document read by the scanner; uploads image data obtained from the document so as to keep it temporarily on a public space on the Web; returns to the side of his/her personal computer; and operates the personal computer to specify the URL of the public space where the image data having just been uploaded with use of the document creation application.
Briefly, the technologies disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. JP 2000-137705, 2005-094523, and JP 2005-333477 do not substantially resolve the problem that no image data to be incorporated to a base document can be physically stored at any locations before obtaining it from the base document and neither the problem of the troublesome procedure until obtaining a target document.
The description herein of advantages and disadvantages of various features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed in other publications is in no way intended to limit the present invention. Indeed, certain features of the invention may be capable of overcoming certain disadvantages, while still retaining some or all of the features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed therein.